After years of petitioning to be given combat roles, female officers in the army are finally getting their due recognition. India will soon have women fighter pilots, which will put them in combat positions in the Indian Air Force (IAF) for the first time, Air Force chief Arup Raha told TOI.
Although Indian women gained entry into the Armed Forces back in the 90s itself, they were not given any kind of combat roles. They could fly transport aircrafts and helicopters in the Air Force, but could not streak across the skies in fighter jets.
“We are now planning to induct them into the fighter stream to meet the aspirations of young women of India,” said Air Chief Marshal Raha. His announcement coincides with the 83rd anniversary of the birth of the IAF.
This comes in stark contrast to a statement by Raha last year, where he said women were physically not suited for the job and they might face problems while flying fighter planes.
“As far as flying fighter planes are concerned, it is a very challenging job. Women are by nature not physically suited for flying fighter planes for long hours, especially when they are pregnant or have other health problems,” he said in March, 2014.
Women officers in the other two services too have been kept away from combat roles. In the Navy, they cannot serve on warships and in the Army, they cannot join the infantry, armoured corps or artillery.
Another supposedly major hindrance for women in the IAF until now, was that it took well over Rs 13 crore to train a single fighter pilot. And this huge investment could be recovered only over 13-14 years of active flying. Women fighter pilots, the force believed, may get married, have children, and consequently disrupt the IAF’s tight flying schedules, reports The Times of India. It didn’t help that for a long time women also did not have a permanent commission.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has also previously expressed skepticism with recruiting women for combat operations in armed forces due to apprehensions about their safety.
So what made Parrikar and Raha change their minds about women in armed forces? Is the IAF becoming more progressive with an aim to be more in sync with global trends, or is it just the shortage of combat personnel and pressure to counter forces like Pakistan and China?
The court certainly deserves some credit for the change in mindset after women officers won legal battles for permanent commission in the armed forces. Also technological advancements in battlecraft have made physical toughness redundant in combat roles giving women better grounds to push their case. Women pilots have proven themselves flying helicopters and transport aircrafts in high-risk rescue and other missions.
Whatever the reasons maybe, if this new policy comes through, it will definitely create history of sorts for the women’s movement in India. And India will join the ranks of countries like Pakistan, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway and Switzerland and United Kingdom, among others, who have women in active combat roles in their country’s air force.
Image Courtesy: BCCL
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